NextGen (graphic) -hammer the start of the PS4

They do exist: video games that can surprise one, even though you might think at first glance just another sequel and then a first-person shooter. While I was at the announcement of Shadowfall blown away the first PS4 game from the first moment graphically, but buy too deep sat the disenchantment with part 3. Due to a worthwhile PS4 games action here on Amazon (two PS4 games, a free get) I decided finally, among other things for the bombastic shooter from the Dutch development studio Guerrilla Games. That Killzone Shadow Fall is definitely worth a look not only for fans of the franchise, but also for new entrants, the following review attempts to show.

For all PS4 newcomer a brief technical note. Every PS4 game installed when you insert the disc, the most important data, so that the game can start after 1-2 minutes. The rest of the data is stored in the first minutes of the game to the hard drive so that the drive is fairly loud. Once installation is complete this is no longer heard, but the disc must always remain loaded.

ACTION:

Prior knowledge of Killzone are not absolutely necessary, but helpful. The Helghast that once people were just and lived in the populated planet Vekta, but were expelled because of their violence and containing extreme views, populated the inhospitable but resource-rich planet Helghan. Through years of adaptation they swore revenge and tried in the first Killzone offshoot to conquer Vekta. After the ISA (military organization of Vekta) could thwart the attack of the characteristic red-eye with a gas mask, took place in Killzone 2 the counterattack and Part 3, the continuation of which the Helghast been almost completely wiped out by their own weapon at the end. Shadow case comes in now, as they allowed the survivors take refuge on Vekta, where both peoples through a huge wall (the former Berlin Wall says hello) were isolated from each other. However, there is tension on both sides. While there is ceasefire, but the cold war and mistrust are ubiquitous. The game puts one into the role of Lucas Kellan, a relatively young Shadow Marshall of VSA, acting behind enemy lines. This character change has an impact on the gameplay, more in the respective section. The story does not win Innovation Award and is also otherwise rather only means to an end, but you can tell the developers that they wanted to move away from mere Action Image Series to more depth. That this is sometimes even succeeded marks a visible progress of the series. Finally the Helghast get some more characterization, insight into the life of civilizations there as well as the war-obsessed people on both sides, making the typical good-evil scheme blurred. In addition there are nice aha-series for connoisseurs. I can certainly say that the story in Killzone: Shadow case has spurred me to continue playing, was despite some rough staging and the potential that includes the scenario, but not entirely retrieved.

GAMEPLAY:

The biggest change in Killzone Shadow Fall affects the gameplay. Since it is no longer part of a squad, but a Shadow Marshall is a little more down to the nose, how to approach missions. Whether the enemy fights now insidiously, preceded with a little more fire power or attempts to avoid detection, breathes new life into the otherwise subscribed by brute action series. The areas are larger, some with optional objectives and collectable Audiologs, comics and newspapers deepen the story and ensure that the campaign is well worth a 2nd playthrough. Another new feature is the OWL-drone, which is a constant companion of the player character. This can be assigned to various commands. Since the game comes from Sony, you used the same number of new features of the Dual Shock controller 4. The drone has four different modes, which are all selected by a wiping movement on the touchpad. Do I need a shield, stroking one finger down and gives the drone command to build a bullet-proof shield and with a mop to the right can be stretched at predetermined points a rope to overcome longer distances or to gain access to unreachable places. In addition you can also locate the enemy by means of scanning or use the drone for fighting. What greatly in theory sounds like slight clashes, was well balanced in practice. The Helghast are as in previous Killzone games not shooting figures such in Call of Duty or Battlefield but know how to fix the player. Although experienced FPS players can equal difficulty on heavy filters (Light, Medium, Heavy), but even on normal they can be a very threatening. The KI affords small outages, but now operates in larger areas and examined the scene when strange activities are underway.

The controller could not delight everyone in earlier offshoots. Too sluggish and slow it said by critics. In Shadow case, the controller now responds more precisely than ever before, sensitivities and an alternative controller layout is also customizable. Add to this the clever integration of the built-in mono speaker of the Dual Shock 4 what set collected Audiologs be played, the light bar provides information about the health status of the player and the vibration is well used.

Overall, the campaign offers a pleasing mix of stealth, shooting, sabotage and nice gravity sections and even smaller puzzles passages to open locked doors, for example. The game time is me about eight to nine hours perfectly fine. Shadow case is not too long and not too short.

TECHNOLOGY:

When one thinks of Killzone, many players immediately associate: Bombastic graphics. Reduce Shadowfall to this, although would not be right, but who wants to introduce his newly purchased PS4 equal with NextGen graphic sense of class, for all roads lead to this game over. Native full HD resolution is not even the tip of the iceberg. Each scene in the game is to detail, equipped with almost always super sharp textures, how they do not know of the PS3 and all the floats a consistent real-time lighting, which although it has still partially prefabricated shadows, but also dominates good real-time shadows. Effects as volumetric smoke and fog, innumerable particles, depth of field, tessellation, Paralax Occlusion Mapping, HDR, Physically Based shading, ambient dimming and other graphic effects produce not only good antialiasing and high farsightedness a very harmonious overall picture and allow a nearly permanently lowering the jaw what is already possible to start the PS4. The color palette is just as varied as the choice of venues. Beautiful forests on rainy city centers, space stations and other atmospheric venues and more. Faces, facial expressions and animations of the game characters are also managed. Only residents on Vekta fall off in some cases considerably and not even have good PS3-level.

When the frame rate to Guerrilla Games has chosen unlocked 30 FPS. This means that, the frame rate is higher in sections or areas where less technique effort is needed. So it is possible that some areas running with about 45 FPS or more, which ensures a steady, sharp image. Tearing I noticed none and frame rate dips below 30 FPS also did not come with me. Overall, the hitherto most liquid Killzone experience. In multiplayer, the decision was in favor of 60 frames / second for graphic grades, which is a good decision in the face of competitive gameplay, since the controller responds once more precise, since the graphic still looks great.

Audio Technically, there is also little reason to complain. The game is played in DTS 5.1 with massive explosions, space effects, a very successful background music and also provides uncompressed audio on the Blu-ray disc, which contains multiple languages ​​(English, German, etc.). . The German synchronization is not at the level of The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls, which is why it is better to switch to English because of the places asynchrony. The original speakers do a good job.

Online mode:

Killzone Shadow Fall has only one game mode called War Zone. This includes several mission objectives, and can be arbitrarily varied and uploaded by the community. The long term goal is to establish popular modifications (limited ammunition and respawns) this mode, so that for every player's tastes. War zone includes standard modes like Team Deathmatch, Conquest, Capture the Flag (here rather a container), Search and Destroy, etc. Played created a total of ten cards with a maximum of three leagues (Sniper, Assault, catering), which but four slots for offers classes. All weapons are unlocked from the start, but not their accessories and upgradeable skills. Overall the game with 1,500 challenges awaiting, which also signal the status of a player and unlock accessories. The class and weapon balance is right, the network code runs pleasingly stable, there are virtually no latency, crashes or other errors. In addition, Guerrilla Games and Sony announced recently to provide future cards free of charge. Very sympathetic in times of Premium and season passes. Only a coop mode and for these additional cards are submitted pay a fee in the future.

CONTRA:

The criticisms hold in my view, within limits. From the Cold War scenario, could do more in terms of characters, one or the other place is a bit unfortunate staged and the dt. Synchronization has also been better heard. In addition, the residents see on Vekta from partially somewhat carelessly designed.

In addition, it has two chapters feel artificially stretch the season, because you have to fight off enemies minutes. In those moments Shadowfall fell back slightly the duration of action.

CONCLUSION:

Killzone Shadow Fall has become a real surprise in many ways. The story about the conflict between Vektanern and Helghast has more depth than ever before without annoying characters as in its predecessors, the gameplay feels surprisingly fresh and yet familiar in its best moments with the predecessor. The graphics are a perfect demonstration of what is possible with the PS4, after all, the graphic differences between the beginning and end of a console generation were very large. Even for newcomers worth a trip to the gloomy scenario. Guerrilla Games is a great way to start title succeeded at the beginning of the new PlayStation. A launch title as you could possibly want it!

Other information: Ca. 40 GB Installation, Resolution: 1920 * 1080p, 1 player offline, up to 24 players online. For the online mode is a PlayStation Plus membership required (Online Pass eliminates all future Sony games on PS4). No turning cover!